'Cats': Four Decades of Memories

A star-studded movie version of the blockbuster musical is in the works. Here, a look back at its stage incarnations.

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Published July 20, 2018

Published 25 days ago

News broke on July 20 that a festival of stars — including Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, and Ian McKellen — are set to headline a movie version of the musical "Cats." Characterizing Andrew Lloyd Webber's theatrical show as "long-running," meanwhile, does it a serious disservice: As of this writing, it stands as the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history and the sixth longest-running on London's West End. (The original Broadway production ran nonstop for 18 years.) Here, FOTO pays tribute to the history of the "Cats" tribe. (Above: Original cast member and star Elaine Paige gets ready for the first preview of "Cats" in London on April 22, 1981.)

David Montgomery/Getty ImagesTHE 'CATS' MASTERThe young composer Andrew Lloyd Webber with his cast, circa 1981. The man behind the hit musicals "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita" had turned his attention to an adaptation of T.S. Eliot's light book of poetry, "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats." The show follows the exploits of a group of cats called the Jellicles over one fateful night. (The lack of an actual story has become something of a joke over the years. As one New York Times critic wrote about the 2016 revival, "I enjoyed the show more than I expected, considering it was all cats and no plot.")

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PA Images/PA Images via Getty ImagesSTAR TURNFor the London production, theater legend Elaine Paige played the cat Grizabella, who sings the show-stopping number, "Memory." Another stage legend, Betty Buckley, originated the role on Broadway.Michael Brennan/Getty ImagesFELINE FRIENDPerhaps Lloyd Webber got some early inspiration from a visitor to his piano in 1978.

Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images/Getty ImagesBROADWAY BOUNDLloyd Webber holds up the "Cats" score in New York. The show opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater on Oct. 7, 1982. Critic Frank Rich's New York Times review was only backhandedly kind: "Whatever the other failings and excesses, even banalities, of ''Cats,'' it believes in purely theatrical magic, and on that faith it unquestionably delivers." There were a few raves, but most reviews were, like Rich's, lukewarm. Still, the musical became a smash and quickly wove itself into the fabric of New York life.Bettmann/Bettmann ArchiveAWARDS SEASONLloyd Webber picks up the Tony for Best Original Score, for "Cats," in 1983.Time & Life Pictures/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCELEBRITY SIGHTINGComedian Phyllis Diller got into the spirit while visiting backstage with actor Timothy Scott in 1983.

New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty ImagesCLOSING TIMELloyd Webber speaks to the cast after the curtain came down on the final Broadway performance in 2000. By that point, the production had been performed 7,485 times.New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty ImagesTHE STRONGESTOnly one actress — Marlene Danielle, who played Bombalurina — stayed with the show for its entire Broadway run. ''I have an excessive amount of energy and stamina and determination," she told the New York Times (in what might be the all-time theatrical understatement) in 2000.Dave Benett/Getty ImagesSEND-OFFDirector Trevor Nunn, Lloyd Webber, and original star Paige returned to the West End one last time when the London production closed in 2002.

Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty ImagesWORLD TOURAnd Singapore.Noam GalaiFLYING LEAPA new Broadway revival was mounted in 2016, but ticket sales were only so-so, and the show closed at the end of 2017.Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty ImagesMOVIE MOMENTThe Oscar-winning director of "The King's Speech," Tom Hooper, will helm the movie version. Jennifer Hudson will reportedly take on the role of Grizabella. And she knows a thing or two about show-stopping songs.